This article has been updated to note a change to the time of the unity gathering.
Rockville will honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy as the city holds its 53rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration this month with a unity gathering and service activities at sites across the city.
A free unity gathering will be held from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19 at Beall Elementary School, 451 Beall Ave. It will feature a dialogue with community and faith leaders, a light lunch, fellowship and information about how to get involved with the event’s nonprofit participants.
King famously said, “Everyone can be great because everybody can serve.” In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act to designate the federal holiday as a National Day of Service. By observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day through service activities, Rockville begins each year with a commitment to making our community a better place.
The city is sponsoring service activities in which the community can participate. (Some of these activities are weather-dependent and may be rescheduled.) They are:
- Assembling “Cups of Cheer” for seniors with hot chocolate, tea packets and treats in a mug with a handwritten note.
- Assembling house kits with essential items, such as toiletries, in reusable bags for people in housing transition.
- Creating winter care kits with items like gloves, lip balm, hand sanitizer and a handwritten note for community members in need.
- Weed Warrior invasive plant pulls at city parks.
- A trail cleanup.
Register to participate in a service activity and learn more about the unity gathering at www.rockvillemd.gov/mlk.